Penny Dreadful

Penny Deerborn (Rachel Miner) and her therapist, Orianna Volkes (Mimi Rogers) take a trip to help Penny overcome her fear of cars. But as with any horror film, things go wrong and the car they are traveling in ends up becoming a prison for Penny (wedged between two trees). Oh, and there's also a serial killer loose in the woods.

What is going to be the real deal-maker (or breaker) for this film is if the audience can relate to Penny's fear of cars. Roughly an hour of the film has her in the car by herself being scared. Not much of a plot, or much dialog -- just the actress and her expressions of fear. Many viewers will find this intensely boring. I, however, could relate quite well with this (as someone with anxiety, I often experience attacks in cars and can put myself in her shoes -- if I had been Penny, I would have been much less brave).

Rachel Miner deserves full credit for being amazing. I was not really familiar with her before this, though her name was somewhat known. She seems to have a very solid range, if this movie is any example -- she was asked to carry a film all on her own with no characters to talk to. And in my opinion, she did it.

Mimi Rogers (the former Mrs. Tom Cruise) also plays a unique role. As a corpse. I think that deserves some credit, too, as even acting dead must take some skills -- never really moving or breathing on camera. Definitely a new direction for Rogers.

Secondary characters were nice, if for no other reason than to round out the film... and I loved the visuals... the colors of the dark, snowy mountains. I don't know much about cameras, but I like the way the light was filtered to give it this dark, lonely look. Very good move.

I say check this one out. It may not be for you -- it might bore you to tears. So if you think you're one of those, don't watch it late at night when you're about to take a nap. If you have any sort of anxiety or claustrophobia, I think you'll get a lot more out of this one. And as long as everyone just ignores how conveniently coincidental the whole plot is, we'll be fine.

Now, this had all the elements of good horror - suspense, screams, breasts, and slashing. Not too bad for a film that takes place in the woods at night.

Penny (Rachel Miner) is traveling with her therapist (Mimi Rogers) to overcome her fear of cars after an auto accident as a child. Now, everyone knows not to pick up hitchhikers, and you should especially know not to take them into the woods, but hey, there wouldn't be a movie if they did the smart thing.

She, with a fear of cars, ends up stuck in a car with her dead therapist, and thus begins a night of horror. Dead bodies are piling up all over as she screams to get out.

I won't spoil it except to say that I really liked the ending.

And, I sure want to see some more of Tammy Filor.

The first time I saw this movie I didn't really care for it at all. I re-watched it a second time and I absolutely loved it. This movie has great suspense, terror and kills. Penny is a likable character, she is traumatized from a car accident, and is trying to get over her fears and is trying to be a regular person. Her therapist, Orianna, is taking Penny on a road-trip. It's to "Complete the Circle" and have Penny end her fears where they first began. The Hitchhiker is really creepy. He then traumatizes Penny even more throughout the film. The reason I liked this film is because first of all, it's a really good movie - if you're into this kind of film. And second because it shows how you don't a HUGE budget and big name stars in a movie for it to be good.

Penny Dreadful is an interesting film. It's simplistic and executed for most of it's 98 minute running time intensely. But it drops the ball so drastically in it last quarter that the film almost falters completely. No doubt the most entertaining of the three it tells the story of a young girl named Penny whom witnessed her parents dying in a car accident. Growing up some years later she has a fear of cars and is taken by her psychiatrist up to the mountains to confront this fear head on at the place it happened. However upon reaching their destination they accidentally hit a grotesque hitchhiker and upon dropping him off are left stranded in the middle of nowhere after he attacks the car. With a blown off tire, no cell phone reception and a busted ankle Penny is left to fend for herself against the homicidal maniac. The concept is simple and scary imagined being entrapped in such a small space and terrorized. People of course come to help and are brutally slain. Some of the suspense sequences work wonderfully well from the camouflaging of the killer, to noises and sounds in the night. Rachael Miner's performance as Penny is multi layered and award worthy. The film has some nice supporting nods to from Mimi Rogers and others. The Direction is decent and promising while the score and cinematography are top notch and quite impressive. The films problems are simple pacing, it gets a little long in places, the killer he should never be aloud to speak and the final act. What seems to be racing towards a crazy finale ends up reaching it boiling point early and never erupts. The finale is weak and predictable and because this is such a simplistic movie it's hard to understand why they couldn't have executed a standard finale with the same intense gusto they had been demonstrating throughout. In the end Penny Dreadful is engaging, entertaining and delightfully creepy but with further tweaking we could've had a horror classic on our hands.

I did like this film quite a lot (even though I have only given it 6/10). It's very tense and does send chills up your spine. The acting is very good, the storyline is imaginative but somehow I have this feeling, that it could've been so much better.

It's basically about a young girl who has a phobia of riding in cars (known as Amaxophobia) ever since her parents died tragically in a car accident when she was very young. Now, older, she must go back to where it happened with her psychiatrist to overcome her fears...this is her last step in her "program".

On route to this place, they hit a hitch-hiker and her psychiatrist feels so bad about this she decides to give them a lift, much to Penny's disapproval. They introduce themselves and Penny soon tells the hitch-hiker why they are travelling to the mountains (to overcome her fear of riding in cars).

When the hitch-hiker gets to their destination...thats when things start to go really bad. It's a tense and chilling roller-coaster from this point on and the acting from Penny is brilliant! However, there are times when you think to yourself "get on with it"...but in Penny's situation...you will understand why she doesn't! I would recommend seeing this as it is a good movie. But don't expect much gore, or horror. It's more of a thriller.

Always remember never tell a stranger ANYTHING about yourself ;)